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Forte, the season ender for Ballet Arkansas in many ways encapsulates the work of the company over its first 40 years. The combination of classical and modern styles of dance performed with both live and pre-recorded accompaniment played to the company’s strengths.

(A frustration I have with ballet is that different dancers alternate roles at different performances – I want to see all of them, but I cannot attend all performances. So my comments are based solely on the performers I saw.)

The first half was “Act II” from Swan Lake. As the central couple Odette and Siegfried, Lauren Bodenheimer Hill and Zeek Wright were well-matched. During their pas de deux, they were graceful as the executed their movements. Because it was not the full ballet, one did not get the chance to fully explore the chemistry between the couple.

The swans were beautifully attired in the classic white, feathered tutus one would expect from Swan Lake (kudos to designer/creator Callie Rew). And the ladies dancing as the birds had movements that both honored the choreography and the birds they were evoking.

The highlight was (as it usually is when considering Act II), the Danse des petits cygnes. And it did not disappoint. Meredith Short Loy, Amanda Sewell, Hannah Bradshaw and Isabelle Urben danced as one unit. But though the movements were in sync, one was aware that it was four individual dancers and not four automatons. The audience was so appreciative of their talent that it broke out into spontaneous applause at least twice during the section.

An added bonus to the Swan Lake performance was the presence of Dr. Drew Mays, the Van Cliburn winning pianist, providing live accompaniment. Having the live music provided an additional layer of richness ot the piece.

After intermission, Tchaikovsky returned, this time by way of George Balanchine. The “Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux” featured Paul Tillman and Meredith Short Loy. The couple exhibited true partnering. Whereas in more classical ballet, often the male dancer may be there to merely support the ballerina, in the Balanchine piece, it is a symbiotic partnership with definite interplay. The piece allowed Tillman to showcase his graceful athleticism, while Loy displayed her elegant footwork, especially during some delicate and fast moments. Artistic Director Michael Fothergill wisely put this moment to open the act as a transition from the pure classical piece to the works yet to come.

Fothergill’s “Forma” was next up. It was a very kinetic dance with Toby Lewellen and Amanda Sewell at the center of it. Together with Deanna Stanton, Deanna Gerde, and Isabelle Urben, the dancers employed a variety of movements often so interconnected they resembled cogs in a machine. But even with the mechanical nature of the movements, Lewellen and Sewell displayed an emotional connectivity. These were not just dancers going through the paces of executing modern movements.

The performance concluded with Ma Cong’s “Calling.” Set to music inspired by a variety of Mediterranean and lower European cultures, it put its six dancers through their paces. As the styles of music changed, the dancers changed from more brisk movements to more fluid motions. The work allowed the dancers to showcase a variety of styles of dance without seeming like it was saying “look what else we can do.”

While the partnering of the three male dancers with their ballerina partners was nice throughout the work, what was most striking was the opening moments when it was just Zeek Wright, Paul Tillman, and Matthew Larson on stage. These three are different heights and different builds. To see them move in sync with these varied physiques was a lesson in movement. No one was overshadowing the others, but one was much more aware that these were three distinct dancers working together. Likewise when they were partnering with Lauren Bodenheimer Hill, Megan Hustel, and Lynsie Jo Ogden (respectively), the juxtaposition highlighted each dancer’s abilities.

As the latest in the long line of Ballet Arkansas leaders, Artistic Director Fothergill and Associate Artistic Director Catherine Garratt Fothergill have both honored the legacy of the past while putting their own stamp on the company.

Throughout the 2000s the company wandered through the wilderness of a revolving door of plans that, more often than not, failed to materialize. At a time it had no staff, it was held together largely due to the grit and determination of Jana Beard, her daughter Allison Stodola Wilson, a few supporters, and an annual presentation of The Nutcracker. Emerging from that cocoon, the company now has a presence on Main Street. It is pleasing to see the Fothergills build on the work of Beard and recent artistic director Michael Bearden to launch Ballet Arkansas into a new level.

(Ballet Arkansas’ emergence as a full-fledged professional dance company is complemented by the burgeoning dance program at UA Little Rock. It is kismet that these two tracks are happening parallel considering that both programs were coincidentally at their nadirs in the early 2000s.)

Completing their second season of leadership, the Fothergills have expanded Ballet Arkansas’ number of performances, number of dancers, and community outreach. In so doing, they have forged new partnerships and unsurprisingly attracted new patrons. But they have not let the quest for “the new” move them away from the core mission. After forty years, Ballet Arkansas is focused now, more than ever, on providing quality ballet performances and experiences to audiences throughout Arkansas.

Presented by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Ballet Arkansas’ “Forte” celebrates the 2018/2019 season, with the return of our wildly popular collaboration with internationally acclaimed pianist, Dr. Drew Mays. This dynamic mixed repertory program is a refreshing mix of contemporary and classical dance that is the perfect season finale for the 40th anniversary season.

“Forte” features the iconic Swan Lake Act II, with music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by Marius Petipa, a prolific contemporary work by Tulsa Ballet’s resident choreographer Ma Cong, “Calling”, Balanchine’s famous “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux”, and a contemporary world premiere by Executive and Artistic Director, Michael Fothergill. Swan Lake Act II will be accompanied by Dr. Drew Mays, who won the Van Cliburn Foundation’s Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs playing Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata and Liszt’s “Mephisto” Walz.

“We are thrilled to continue the Ballet Arkansas in Concert series, sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust, which pairs high profile works of classical and contemporary dance with musical accompaniment from world renowned musicians. This series brings works to the State of Arkansas not ever performed within the region, while also placing Ballet Arkansas on par with the repertoire of larger ballet companies on the national scale,” says Catherine Fothergill, Associate Artistic Director.

A brilliant finish to the 2018/19 40th Anniversary Season, Forte! offers the audience a new and rich experience, providing powerful artistic collaborations that will elevate the arts in our community. “Forte” premieres at UA Pulaski Tech CHARTS Theater on the weekend of May 3-5, 2019.

Public performances four main stage performances, Friday, May 3rd at 7:00 pm, Saturday, May 4th at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm, and Sunday, May 5th at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $15-35, and are available online at balletarkansas.org/tickets, http://charts.uaptc.edu/ballet-arkansas, or in person or over the phone at the UA-Pulaski Tech CHARTS Theater Box office (501) 812-2710. Discounted tickets are available at the box office or by calling (501)812-2387. Discounted ticket prices: Students ($20), senior citizen ($25), and children 12 and under ($15).

One of the presenters at Sunday’s 72nd Tony Awards is Mikhail Baryshnikov. Twenty-nine years ago, he himself was a 1989 Tony nominee for Actor in a Play (for playing a man-turned-cockroach in an adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis.

In 1985, Baryshnikov returned to Little Rock to perform again at Robinson Center under the auspices of Ballet Arkansas. He had performed here two years earlier, as well.

Among the dancers who joined him in the program was future Tony nominee Robert LaFosse. He would be nominated for a 1989 Tony as well. But he was up for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. Other dancers in the company were Cynthia Harvey, Susan Jaffe, Leslie Browne, Elaine Kudo, Cheryl Yeager, Amanda McKerrow, Deirdre Carberry, Bonnie Moore, Valerie Madonia, Ross Stretton, Peter Fonseca, Gil Boggs, John Gardner, and John Turjoman.

The company danced to pieces choreographed by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Marius Petipa, future Tony Award winner Twyla Tharp, Lisa de Ribere, and La Fosse. The music composers included George Gershwin, Jacques Offenbach, Frederic Chopin, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Hector Berlioz, as well as composers who wrote songs for Frank Sinatra.

While Ballet Arkansas did not have any dancers perform during the evening, the organization presented it and was able to receive the proceeds which exceeded the expenses. For several years in the 1980s, the Ballet would either commence or conclude their season with such an performance. In fact, the 1985 Baryshnikov program contained a promotion of a 1986 visit by Alvin Ailey’s dance company.

Whereas the 1983 Baryshnikov appearance had been sponsored by the Arkansas Democrat, this time, the rival Arkansas Gazette was the sponsor.

Ballet Arkansas’ 2015-16 season concludes with the concert Under the Lights, currently on stage at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre through Sunday, May 22. In what has become a hallmark of Artistic Director Michael Bearden’s leadership, it offers an eclectic mix of styles of dance and music which not only highlight the strengths of the dancers, but also allow the dancers to push themselves in new directions.

The concert takes its name from Chris Stuart’s Under the Lights, which is set to the music of Johnny Cash. Created for Nashville Ballet, this piece receives its Arkansas premiere just one hour north of Cash’s birthplace in Kingsland. Being the scion of a longtime Cleveland County family, I grew up listening to Cash’s music. I approached this piece with a great deal of excitement, but also wondering exactly how ballet would meld with Cash. The answer is, they fuse very well.

Ballet is, at its heart, about expression. So are Cash’s songs. At Ballet Arkansas’ performances, the songs are performed live by Sugar + the Hi-Lows, which played them in the premiere. The central dancer, in black of course, is Toby Lewellen. He does not try to mimic Cash in any way, but instead combines lyricism and athleticism as he leads the company in “Walk the Line.” He and Amanda Sewell partner nicely on the piece’s penultimate song, “I’ve Got You Covered.

Deanna Karlheim and Paul Tillman perform a pas de deux to “Ring of Fire” which captures the raw longing of that song. Megan Hustel leads the company in a poignant “Hurt.”

After all the emotions of the piece, it ends in the joyous “Jackson” which allows each of the dancers a moment to showcase their talents. This is no balletic hoedown with forced folksiness; it is a true “let down your hair” moment of release for the dancers at the end of the piece and of the concert.

The concert starts with George Balanchine’s Glinka Pas de Trois which featured Justin Rustle, Megan Hustel and Lauren Bodenheimer at Friday evening’s performance. This 1955 piece requires the dancers to show not only classical ballet training, but also speed and subtle movements which are more inspired by modern dance. The three dancers perform alone and in various combinations. Intricate and challenging, the three dancers were up to the task.

Harrison McEldowney’s Group Therapy was an audience favorite. The four couples portrayed different sets of phobias, neuroses, or other problems. Set to pop standards of the 1930s and 1940s, each couple got a chance to display not only dancing prowess, but also a flair for comedy. In “Treat Me Rough” thankfully Toby Lewellen and Lynsie Ogden were not called upon to actually abuse each other that in this enlightened day would not be funny. But they aptly captured the on-again, off-again status of some couples with a comic edge. Justin Rustle’s uptight “Mr. Clean” was paired with Meredith Loy in a pas de deux set to Gershwin’s “Embraceable You” which was both witty but also filled with longing as Loy tried to break through Rustle’s veneer. His expert lift work was on display throughout the piece.

Megan Hustel dances not only with Tony Sewer but also with a peripatetic cigarette. She constantly hides it from Sewer in a movement that never stops throughout the number. Sewer gets his chance to shine in a response to her, which is infused with equal parts jazz and ballet. Narcolepsy has never been so funny as when danced by Paul Tillman and Amanda Sewell in “Narcoleptic.” Sewell goes limp in a variety of poses while Tillman tries to keep her up. This creates opportunities to show the gracefulness and strength of both dancers as Sewell sweeps and Tillman juggles her throughout the number.

The evening also contained two world premieres. The first, (e)motions by Ilya Kozadayev, was the winner of the 2015 Visions choreography contest. Featuring three couples, it was abstract and athletic. Yet each couple created a connection as they partnered. Deanna Karlheim and Paul Tillman, Meredith Loy and Toby Lewellen, and Lynsie Ogden and Tony Sewer, were definitely put through the paces on this piece.

Kiyon Gaines’ Memoryhaus was at its best when it created stark pictures whether it was Amanda Sewell alone in a spotlight, Paul Tillman approaching Deanna Karlheim, or the entire company dancing in unison. Its style is a blend of classical and modern, which is matched by the music of Max Richter.

Ballet Arkansas continues to be a company on the move. Less than a decade ago, the company was on life support existing to produce The Nutcracker in December. Now it is firmly establishing itself as an innovative member of Arkansas’ arts scene with a resident company which tours throughout the state. Not content to be a mediocre provincial dance troupe, Artistic Director Michael Bearden has programmed work that explores the depth and breadth of the ballet world and brings it to Arkansas.

The fact that the company has been granted permission to perform Balanchine selections two years in a row is no accident. It is a testament to the vision and hard work of Bearden and the dancers. Ballet Mistress Laura Hood Babcock and Production & Company Manager Erin Anson-Ellis aid Bearden in this effort. It is exciting to have seen dancers return over several seasons and have the opportunity to dance a variety of styles. Under the Lights is the culmination of a great deal of hard work, not only for the rehearsal process this season, but also for the company over several years.

Ballet Arkansas made Arkansas history in April 2015, when it became the first Arkansas-based dance company licensed to perform a work by George Balanchine.

It took place during Ballet Arkansas’ annual spring mixed repertory show. The headlining piece, Who Cares?, was choreographed by the father of American ballet George Balanchine and is set to music of the incomparable George Gershwin. “We at Ballet Arkansas are honored to be able to bring such a wonderful work to our state. This accomplishment speaks volumes for artistic and technical abilities of our twelve professional dancers” noted Artistic Director Michael Bearden. This piece was chosen for its fun, high-energy choreography and audience catching tunes that will delight fans of all dance styles.

The show also includes Hilary Wolfley’s expanded piece, Façade. Hilary, from Orem Utah, was the winner of our August 2014 Visions Choreographic Competition. Excerpts from the tragic tale and classical ballet Raymonda, choreographed by the Marius Petipa which was premiered January 19th, 1898, Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg will be performed as well as the pas de deux from Lady of the Camellias by Val Caniparoli. Lady of the Camellias is set to the music of Chopin and is based on the 19th century French novel by Alexander Dumas. Former Hubbard Street Dance company member Greg Sample has choreographed a contemporary piece titled Rerouting which will round out the show’s line-up.

Ballet Arkansas is supported in part by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

While it is only the start of July, cultural institutions are already focused on their 2015-2016 seasons. This is especially true for Ballet Arkansas, which has its first event on August 22nd.

Ballet Arkansas starts off with the second annual Visions Choreographic Competition to be held in the Center for Performing Arts at UALR on August 22nd at 7:00pm. Thirty-one emerging choreographers from around the country competed for five spots in this competition of which the winner will receive a commission to create a complete new work on Ballet Arkansas’s company dancers for their 2016 spring show. Selected choreographers include Boston Ballet’s Boyko Dossev, former Houston Ballet’s and current University of Oklahoma dance faculty member Ilya Kozadayev, former Ballet West and Visceral Dance Chicago’s Tom Mattingly, former Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Barry Kerollis and Post: Ballet’s Aidan DeYoung. The guest judge for Visions is Glenn Edgerton, Artistic Director for Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago. Tickets for Visions will go on sale July 1st on the Ballet Arkansas website.

In December, Ballet Arkansas joins forces with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra to present the annual holiday ballet, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center. With music provided by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, a cast of 200+ youth and adult dancers from the central Arkansas area, professional guest artists and featuring Ballet Arkansas professional company members, The Nutcracker will continue its tradition as a holiday must-see. The Nutcracker performance week includes student matinees for statewide school groups on December 10 & 11, along with the four public performances on December 11, 12 and 13th. Tickets for The Nutcracker will go on sale in early September on the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s website.

On May 20-22, 2016 Ballet Arkansas will present its annual spring mixed-repertory show, Under the Lights at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. This year’s show contains an eclectic group of works of various dance styles including Nashville Ballet dancer Chris Stuarts’ Under the Lights set to Johnny Cash songs including “Walk the Line” and “Jackson”. This show also features a world premier of a Kiyon Gaines work and Group Therapy, a comedy ballet created for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago by Harrison McEldowney and the expanded Visions winning choreography. Ballet Arkansas is also delighted to announce that itwill again be performing a George Balanchine work, Glinka Pas de Trois. Tickets will go on sale in early fall on the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s website.

Ballet Arkansas also announced that it has engaged Kiyon Gaines, recently retired Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist, to a 3-year Resident Choreographer Contract. He choreographed Bolero for the 2013-2014 season. In addition, Laura Hood Babcock has been named the new ballet mistress. She worked with Ballet Arkansas last season on the Balanchine Who Cares? Michael Bearden is the Artistic Director and Karen Bassett is the Executive Director.

Ballet Arkansas’ annual spring mixed repertory show will be performed April 17-19 at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. “This mixed repertory format gives us the ability to entertain and educate our audience with different styles of dance, from classical ballet to contemporary dance to ballet-meets-Broadway” says Karen Bassett, Executive Director. “There is truly something for everyone in this show”.

The headlining piece, Who Cares?, was choreographed by the father of American ballet George Balanchine and is set to music of the incomparable George Gershwin. “This will mark the first time an Arkansas based dance company has been licensed to perform a work choreographed by Mr. Balanchine. We at Ballet Arkansas are honored to be able to bring such a wonderful work to our state. This accomplishment speaks volumes for artistic and technical abilities of our twelve professional dancers” says Artistic Director Michael Bearden. This piece was chosen for its fun, high-energy choreography and audience catching tunes that will delight fans of all dance styles.

The show also includes Hilary Wolfley’s expanded piece, Façade. Hilary, from Orem Utah, was the winner of our August 2014 Visions Choreographic Competition. Excerpts from the tragic tale and classical ballet Raymonda, choreographed by the Marius Petipa which was premiered January 19th, 1898, Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg will be performed as well as the pas de deux from Lady of the Camellias by Val Caniparoli. Lady of the Camellias is set to the music of Chopin and is based on the 19th century French novel by Alexander Dumas. Former Hubbard Street Dance company member Greg Sample has choreographed a contemporary piece titled Rerouting which will round out the show’s line-up.

Tickets to the public shows of Who Cares? are available on the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s website at therep.org or by calling (501) 378-0405.

Ballet Arkansas is supported in part by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.